West Side, East Side
by Fire331
Summary: It is the year 2000 and England is split in two, a west side and an east side, by the everlasting feud of Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Then something happens that changes everything.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own anything canon in the Harry Potter Books.

Prologue

In the year 2000, the true battle began. It has always been said that the hardest battle comes not from the outside, but from the inside, as was the case in this tragedy. The battle from without, known as the Second War, ended in the year 1998. Harry Potter, as was prophesied, defeated the Dark Lord. The battle from within in started in 2000, the descendants of the Death Eaters and the like were treated much like Azkaban prisoners. The scourge of England so to say. England was split.

After the Second War, many of the dark side and the like lost everything. Money, mansions, and family. All Death Eaters were given the Dementor's Kiss. The money of these ancient families was taken by the Ministry. Those who were left were treated poorly, hardly given a chance. They were treated much worse than the squibs or werewolves. This new way of life was extremely hard for those unaccustomed to being poor.

Draco Lucius Malfoy resurfaced after two years, much to the surprise of the public. He had obviously changed, not just in appearance, but in his whole aura. The west side mob began with him as their leader, the last descendant of the name Malfoy. He was still well-respected by his people. He gained back his fortune and much more in the few months that he had returned. As boss, or don, he appointed Blaise Zabini as the underboss, or second in command; Theodore Nott as the advisor, or consigliere; and Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint, and Miles Bletchley as the captains, or caporegimes. The crews consisted mainly of past Slytherins.

The west side was gaining the power back, the past was reoccurring. The Minister of Magic, Rfus Scrimgeour, was corrupt and the illegal activities of the west side mob were ignored by the Ministry. It was obvious that bribery was the reason for this. And so, the east side mob was created to fight the west side mob. Harry Potter left his job as an auror, maybe for good, and became the boss. As boss, or don, he appointed Ronald Weasley as the underboss, or second in command; Hermione Granger as the advisor, or consigliere; and Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Fred and George Weasley, and Lee Jordan as the captains, or caporegimes. The crews consisted mainly of past Gryffindors.

It was like a Gryffindor versus Slytherin feud post graduation. A continuance so to say. It was likely the war between the two houses would never end. The differences between the two houses were too great, the nobility of the Gryffindor House and the cunning of the Slytherin House allowed for no friendship. Most of the past Hufflepuffs refused to take a stance as was their custom, while some of the past Ravenclaws refused to be part of the Lions because they had ties to the Slytherins as they were the one house that Slytherins could most tolerate. And so the mob names were forged, the Lions and the Serpents as the Serpents were mostly past Slytherins and the Lions were mostly past Gryffindors. The Lions were home to the east of England and the Serpents were home to the west of England. The one exception was London which was the only middle ground.

Between the two years much had occurred for both sides. Marriages, newborns, etcetera.

Ron and Hermione had tied the knot right after the war and the couple had a little son, Harry Weasley. Harry Potter was his godfather of course. Dean and Parvati, Seamus and Lavender, Neville and Luna, Fred and Angelina, George and Alicia, Lee and Katie, Bill and Fleur, and Remus and Tonks, and so many others were married. Harry had also been courting Ginny Weasley.

Blaise and Daphne, Theodore and Tracey, Crabbe and Pansy, and Goyle and Millicent, to name a few, had all been married in 2000 after the creation of the Serpents. Draco was distant and little was known of him to the public, it was doubtful even his friends knew him well. What was known was that he was not with anyone.

Then one December evening something happened, something so unexpected and innocent that it changed everything. Neither of them knew it at the time, but their lives were about to be altered forever and nothing they could do would change that fact.

AN: I am sorry it is so short, but I wrote this in about an hour and I need feedback to know whether or not this is a storyline that should be pursued. Please review, any feedback is welcome. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything canon in the Harry Potter Books.

Chapter 1

The Innocent Incident

A pale man stepped out of Borgin & Burkes of Knockturn Alley, followed by two thickset men, one a bit taller than the other. The first man was tall, maybe six feet, and lean. Strands of pale, white blond hair covered his cold gray eyes. The man went by the name Draco Malfoy, the two thickset men following him were Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The two men were always following him around, they were his most trusted bodyguards.

Draco Malfoy cleaned the blood off of his wand before slipping it back up his sleeve. He pulled the hood of his expensive black robes up and headed left in the direction of Diagon Alley. He would return tomorrow, hopefully then Mr. Borgin would have what he needed. Crabbe and Goyle bumbled along after him.

Draco was heading for the cauldron shop by the Leaky Cauldron, he needed to get Severus Snape a Christmas gift. Snape would probably scoff at the gift, but it would mean much to the tired man. Draco was in a hurry, he had to go kill someone personally at 1PM.

* * *

A fair woman stepped out of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and headed left down Diagon Alley to Gringotts Bank to visit her brother. The woman was short, maybe five feet four inches, and thin, but not skinny. Vivid, flaming red hair hung to her lower back, swishing as she walked, her bright brown eyes lowered, covered by the hood of her fashionable emerald robes.

Ginny Weasley had promised her brother, Bill, that she would come down to see him and his wife Fleur. Ginny was running a bit late and walked in a hurry. Her packages followed behind her. Ginny had been Christmas shopping, she had many nephews to buy presents for and she just could not get any of them the same thing, thankfully they all had their different personalities; Arthur was easy going and...unique like Bill, Stuart was uptight and intelligent like Percy, Gred and Forge were...clever and...inventive like Fred and George, Harry was stupid like Ron. Fleur, Tonks, and Hermione were all pregnant at the present. All expected to give birth to healthy baby boys.

Ginny was rather stressed, she had to plan to baby shower for Fleur in January, one for Tonks in March, and one in April for Hermione. Her one year anniversary was coming up in February as well, she knew for a fact that he was going to pop the question that day. That she would have no choice whatsoever in the decision and that she would pop out a few babies and that would be that. It did not depress her, but she was hesitant, Harry had changed a lot after the war. Ginny did not want to be the wife of a mob boss, but so many women would envy her for it. Ginny was caught up in her thoughts and plans as she hurried along the alley.

* * *

The two could not know how much their lives would change by this one little innocent incident, but the consequences would be earth shattering. All it ever took for things to change was just one little second for something to happen and that is what happened.

Draco rounded the corner as he entered Diagon Alley and Ginny was about to cross the alley that opened up to Knockturn Alley. Worlds collided. Draco and Ginny, both in a hurry, trying to live the lives they were forced to lead, collided into each other, they were both caught by surprise.

Draco held her up as she almost fell to the floor, both of their hoods falling in the process of the collision. Brown met gray. Realization set in, both stepped back quickly after noticing how close they were and after a few careless insults both walked away.

That was all that was needed. Who could possibly have known who watched from across the alley. A lanky blonde stood across the street with a strange glint in her eyes. A slightly short man with mousy brown hair stood beside her with a camera in hand. Rita Skeeter and Colin Creevey were perfect together. A trash journalist and a poor photographer.

The next morning the front page of the Daily Prophet was half covered by a picture of the two holding onto each other, strangely, the picture was frozen in place, very unlike normal pictures. The headlines read, "The Love Affair of the Century."

By Rita Skeeter

_Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley, one a west side mob boss, the other the soon-to-be bride of the east side mob boss. Noon yesterday, unseen, the two met in Knockturn Alley for a secret tryst, the two embraced afterwards before parting. _

_Ginny Weasley is currently dating Harry Potter, the hero of the Second War who defeated Lord Voldemort two years prior. Nothing is known of Draco Malfoy or his personal life._

_Draco and Ginny went to Hogwarts together, her brother, Ron Weasley, was in the same year as Draco. Was Hogwarts the setting of love at first sight? Is it there that the two met, only to be denied. Is it forever fated that the two must always meet in secret, never to be known to the public? Will this love story end in tragedy like Romeo and Juliet?_

The article went on for a few more columns, it was all wishy-washy, but did that really matter? People would believe what they heard because that was all that they knew.

That was all it took to change everything.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything canon in the Harry Potter Books.

Chapter 2

The Reverberating Results

An old, fine house presented its visitors with a gloomy demeanor. The white house was seven stories high and its towering figure intimidated most people that came by. The house was located in Wiltshire, on the west side. Malfoy Mansion was no ordinary house, it held many secrets.

Draco Malfoy awoke at 6AM every morning. Today was the first exception in almost two years. Draco found his dreams haunted by a certain redhead; maybe haunted was not the word for it. Draco awoke with a start at 9AM that morning.

Draco cursed as he ripped the black silk sheets off of him and got up. He quickly pulled off his silver silk boxers and walked into the adjacent bathroom, stepping into the bath. After five minutes he got out and magically dried himself and pulled on some fresh clothing; a pair of silk boxers, expensive black robes, and shiny black dragon hide dress shoes. His outfit rarely changed. He was about to leave when he saw a glint in the corner of his eye, the solid platinum, self-stirring, collapsible cauldron sat atop his ebony desk. He magically packaged it and grabbed it before heading down to the dining room.

* * *

The house stood at five stories high, warmth emanated from it as the sun crept up over the horizon. It was a new day. The young house was still and silent as the sun shined through its many windows. The Burrow was named after the first Weasley house, which had been in the family for centuries until it had been burned down during the war. The new house had been built with Ministry money on the east side afterwards. Arthur Weasley died for the cause and Molly Weasley died shortly afterwards so all old furnishings that were left of the first house went to Ron because he did not have a house, while all his brothers were already settled. Ginny resided with her brother and his family.

Ginny awoke as sunlight flooded into her warm bedroom. Ginny rolled over and placed her head under the white pillow to try and get more sleep. A few moments later she rolled back over and sat up, pulling her white down comforter off of her and stretching before getting up. Her toes curled as they touched the dark green carpet. She headed out of her room and to the bathroom in the hallway, shutting the door behind her. She pulled her white nightgown over her head and ran the water in the bath. Fifteen minutes later she was out and walked back to her room quietly.

Ginny had a life, but it was not really hers. It belonged to everyone in a way. Ginny did what was expected of her, but it wasn't what she wanted. Ginny wanted a normal life, one with a job, a husband, some kids, a house, maybe a pet. Harry made her quit her job in an unobtrusive way, she was expected to be free when he needed her for business dinners and to be shown off and her old job kept her from being available all of the time. When Ginny was not pleasing Harry she was doing something for her family. Ginny didn't hate her life, but she wanted something more. Love.

Ginny sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. No, this was her life. Ginny grabbed some ivory robes from her wardrobe and pulled on some shoes. After she brushed her hair she ran downstairs to make breakfast for everyone. Hermione, although a genius, could not cook. Nothing was expected of Ron, so that left the cooking to her. Ginny didn't mind though, she was an excellent cook, she liked cooking, it reminded her of the times when she cooked with her mother years ago.

Ginny groaned as she heard Ron partially running, partially falling down the stairs. He was all disheveled and grabbed a plate, shoveling the food down in less than two minutes before apparating. Hermione walked down a few minutes later with a large book and Harry in her arms. Ginny took Harry from her and put him in his high chair and Hermione sat absentmindedly, reading The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts...again. Ginny sighed as she began feeding Harry.

Ginny was out of the house at 8:30AM, heading to Scribbulus Everchanging Inks of Diagon Alley. Ginny needed some expensive parchment for Christmas cards and invitations.

* * *

Draco sat comfortably in a brown leather chair in his dim library thinking when a black man stormed in with a strange smile holding a newspaper. The man was tall, maybe six feet two inches, and muscular. The blue-black hair accentuated his piercing blue eyes, but were off-set by his golden skin tone.

"Zabini, what are you doing here, I wasn't expecting you until noon," Draco said getting up.

"Have you seen the Daily Prophet, Draco?" Blaise asked without answering the direct question.

"What are you going on about? You know I don't read that shite," Draco said, giving him a curious look as he took the two glasses of firewhisky a house elf handed him. Draco handed one over to Blaise.

"Well...I advise you to take a look at it," Blaise said smirking as he handed it over.

Glass shattered.

Draco dropped his glass as he saw the large photograph. It was him and that Weasley girl, they were all over each other. Blaise grinned as he downed his glass.

"You sly dog you," Blaise said grinning and patting Draco on the back before changing his whole demeanor and smacking Draco upside the head, "What the bloody hell were you thinking? Ginevra Weasley? Have you absolutely lost your mind? Harry Potter's bitch? You're fucking around with her!" His demeanor changed suddenly again, "I am so proud of you, fucking around with his girl like this, this is wonderful, of course you'll probably be wanted dead more than ever now, but this is better than when the Falmouth Falcons won the European Championship." Blaise then smacked him again, "Why didn't I know about this before!"

"WILL YOU BLOODY SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"Yes, I suppose I shall, I have nothing else to say."

"IT IS A BLOODY LIE DAMMIT!"

"Oh, well that's disappointing..."

"What do you mean it's disappointing?"

"Well, Draco... You really need to get laid, you've been an arse these last couple of weeks and...we all agree it would be for the best."

"Who is we?"

"Just me...and Nott...and a few others..."

Draco sighed as he sat back in his chair, "Take care of this."

Blaise nodded, knowing exactly what Draco meant.

* * *

Ginny returned back to the Burrow half an hour later with a large bag. Ginny sighed as she dropped her bags on the floor and slid into a chair. Hermione was still reading and looked like she hadn't moved in ages. Ginny got up and picked Harry up, she was making her way up the stairs to give him a bath when something caught her eye. The Daily Prophet lay on the kitchen table and the picture on the cover almost made her faint if it had not been for Harry.

"Merlin..."

"What is it?" Hermione asked although her full attention was still on the book.

All Ginny could do was point, Hermione finally pulled away from her book for a second and when her eyes fell upon the picture she fell out of her chair.

"Ginny, what have you done?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear. I just bumped into Malfoy the other day in Diagon Alley and we exchanged some insults and walked away."

Hermione didn't get a chance to reply as Harry Potter stormed in. "What is this?" he yelled, holding up the newspaper in her face.

* * *

Blaise sighed as he looked down into the eyes of Rita Skeeter, forever stilled under those jewelled spectacles of hers. Blaise stood up and apparated to London. He was late.

Blaise Zabini and his wife, Daphne Greengrass, had an agreement; don't ask, don't tell. Everyone that was anyone knew that the couple despised each other. No one knew why they got married, not even the couple, it was just expected of them.

Blaise was sleeping around and so was Daphne. Neither cared. Blaise was not sleeping around with just anybody though, he was sleeping with a Lion.

Blaise half wished that Draco was sleeping around with Ginny Weasley because then Draco would understand his situation, but his hope was once again killed. Luna and Blaise had been together since before the war, the war was what kept them apart, the war and their actions during the war, mainly their marriages. Blaise was glad though, that out of all the people Luna could have married, she married Neville Longbottom.

Blaise was late, he was meeting Luna at The Hog's Head. It is a small inn in Hogsmeade, on a side street off the main street, much dirtier than the Three Broomsticks. The bar consists of a single small, dirty room smelling strongly of something that might be goats. It's something of a fashion to hide one's face in the Hog's Head, by wearing a hood or veil, so it was perfect for the couple. Every Saturday the couple met in Room 4. Today was December 23. Christmas was on Monday and Blaise wanted more than ever to spend it with her, but he knew it was impossible.

He sighed again as he apparated to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Luna Lovegood sat in the luxurious room, although the inn was filthy, Blaise had personally decorated the room with the owner's permission, the two were the only ones that ever used the room. Luna sat at the vanity table, brushing her straggy, waist-length, dirty blonde hair. Her silvery gray eyes looked herself over in the mirror.

Luna sighed, she hated this. Having to meet Blaise secretly. Having to lie to everyone about where she always was. Having to be unfaithful to such a kind, trusting husband that deserved better.

Luna was pregnant.

It was Blaise's child, she knew it. Neville and Luna rarely, if ever, had sexual relations. It was not just about them anymore. What was she going to do? How could she tell Blaise? What about Neville?

Luna had no more time to think, she would put it off for another month, she thought as Blaise entered the room.


End file.
